Kensington Swan's view on aspects of the construction industry

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Monthly Archives: April 2016

The current ‘Housing Crisis’ in Auckland has put a lot of pressure on builders for new homes to be built quickly and economically. Auckland City Council is reporting that some alarming building work has emerged across the city as a result of efforts to satisfy the demand. Among other issues observed, examples of such shoddy…

A recent High Court decision provides a helpful reminder that the Construction Contracts Act must be followed when appointing an adjudicator. In New Zealand Fire Sprinkler Protection Limited v AFS Total Fire Protection Limited [2016] NZHC 690, the defendants (AFS) had unilaterally appointed an adjudicator following apparent settlement of a dispute involving payment for services.…

Everyone has their own idyllic view of where they want to live and how their house should look. However, it seems that largely people’s views on this are fairly similar with many after a bespoke dwelling with room for BBQs and activities in the backyard. The result is the current issues with the demand curve and…

Following on from our earlier blog post, women in the construction industry continues to be a ‘hot topic’ in the media. This time, the Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO), which estimates that women make up 17.5 per cent of the core construction sector, stated that a shortage of apprentices, combined with increasing demand…

Capital & Coast District Health Board has confirmed that Wellington hospital is ‘plagued’ with leaky pipes, which must be repaired. While the DHB is certain it can carry out works without affecting patients, Radio NZ reports that some staff are concerned that the already cash-strapped DHB will not be able to fund the repairs without cutting…

This blog post was written by Peter Fernando, a senior associate specialising in commercial contracts and information technology law. A recent case decided in the Rotorua High Court has confirmed some interesting points about how terms can be incorporated into parties’ contacts and how liability limitations should be interpreted. Jardboranir HF trading as Iceland Drilling…

Whenever a disagreement arises on a project the first step is for the parties to try and sort it out themselves. Sorting it out usually involves discussions between party representatives at meetings or via email. This is a sensible first step in any dispute and one that can save time and money as well as…

Seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones recently retired from her three decade stint at the U.S. Geological Survey and gave an exit interview with NPR about the state of Earthquake preparedness in the United States. According to Dr. Jones in the last 30 years society in general has come around to the idea that a devastating earthquake…

Following a Commerce Commission investigation, supplier Steel and Tube has voluntarily placed the supply of its seismic reinforcing mesh on hold. On 21 March, we blogged about the Commerce Commission investigations regarding several steel mesh retailers, after testing raising questions over whether the products complied with the relevant standard (AS/NZS 4671:2001). Suppliers Euro Corp and…